"The Courtship Of Princess Leia (Dave Wolverton)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Wolverton Dave)

but a silicon-based life form that glowed with its own brilliant inner light.
The creatures, often worn on medallions, matured only after thousands of years.
One gem could buy a Calamarian cruiser, yet the Hapans had thrown hundreds of
mated pairs to the floor. Leia showed no surprise.

A second trio of women, far taller than the others, descended from the
diplomatic shuttle wearing leathers in colors of tawny ocher and cinnamon. They
danced lightly to the sounds of the flutes and drums, and between them floated a
platform that bore a small, gnarled tree with ruddy brown fruits. Twin lights
floated above it, beaming steadily like the suns of some desert world. The crowd
murmured quietly until the ambassador explained, "Selabah, terrefel n lasarla."
("From Selab, a tree of wisdom, bearing fruits.") The crowd suddenly shouted and
cheered in delight, and Han stood dumbfounded. He had thought the wisdom trees
of Selab to be only a legend. It was said that the fruit of the wisdom trees
could greatly boost the intelligence of those who had passed into old age.

Han's blood pounded in his veins, and he felt lightheaded. A man came forward to
the sound of the music, a cyborg warrior dressed in full Hapan body armor, black
with silver trim. He stood nearly as tall as Chewbacca, and strode purposely,
pulled some sort of mechanical device from his arm, and laid it on the ground
before Leia. "Charubah endara, mella n sesseltar." ("From the high-tech world
Charubah, we offer a Gun of Command.")

Han leaned against the glass for support. The Gun of Command had made the Hapan
troops nearly irresistible in small-arms combat, for it released an
electromagnetic wave field that virtually neutralized an enemy's voluntary
thought processes. Those shot with the Gun of Command stood helpless as
invalids, unaware of their surroundings, and tended to follow any orders given
them, for they could not distinguish the command of an enemy from their own
voluntary thoughts. Han began sweating. Their every world, each planet in the
Hapes system, is offering its greatest treasures, Han realized. What could they
hope to gain? What could they want in return?

He watched over the next hour. The music of the drums and flutes and the high,
clear calls of the women singing "Hapes, Hapes, Hapes," over and over again
seemed to pound through his veins, through his temples. Twelve of the poorer
worlds each gave Leia Star Destroyers captured from the Empire, while others
brought things that held more esoteric value. From Arabanth came an old woman
who spoke only a few words on the importance of embracing life while accepting
death, offering a "thought puzzle" that her people held to be of great value. Ut
sent a woman who sang a song so beautiful that the sound seemed to carry Han
away to her world on a warm breeze.

At one point, Han heard Mon Mothma whisper, "I knew Leia had asked for money to
help fight the warlords, but I never imagined . . ."

And finally, the singers stopped singing and the drums stopped beating and a
portion of the wealth of the hidden worlds of Hapes lay scattered on the floor
of the Grand Reception Hall. Han found that his breathing came ragged from his
lungs, for he kept unconsciously holding his breath as the gifts were offered.